Pure
by Glum n Dumb Skittery
Summary: [Epilogue Added; Finished] It's been 10 years since Shidou Hikaru was named Pillar of Cephiro, and eight years since the gateway between Cephiro and Tokyo was blocked. Umi and Fuu are summoned. One last time.
1. Pure

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A/N: Not the most enjoyable cup of tea if you can't appreciate utter angst. Was in a dark mood, took it out on this fandom. Not my usual standard of writing, but it tends to get the point across. My first MKR fic, technically first posted fanfic ever. All feedback welcome. **All standard disclaimers apply. **Enjoy. ONE-SHOT.  


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PURE

"Lady Hikaru," A small girl of turquoise hair turned sorrow-filled eyes onto the Pillar of the new Cephiro, "they've arrived." Hikaru nodded, child-like face, unchanged since accepting her role as the new Pillar, overcome suddenly with pain, strands of ruby-red fell across her face as she met the one who tended to her most with reflecting eyes of anguished depression.  
  
"Please, send them in."  
  
"Of course, M'Lady," the girl stepped out of the room, excusing herself with a bow. The heavy doors of mahogany closed behind her, and even through the thick wood, Hikaru managed to hear the muffled whispers and urgent footsteps approaching quickly, and the familiar twinge that tugged at her heart choked her. But in moments she had regained her composure, aware that if her emotions were to take hold over her heart that could mean danger to her land, to her Cephiro. A silent prayer, the third since she'd woken up, that called for sunny skies and never-ending peace and health wafted up to the ceiling, and the sun shown all the brighter, the polar opposite of the girl's feelings, all too long buried amidst the love for her land.  
  
"Hikaru," a cold voice came from the doorway, so silently creaked open, revealing two figures so changed from what the Pillar had grown so accustomed to visualizing. "It's been a while."  
  
Tears stung the crimson eyes of Hikaru as the two descended from the doorway of the unlit halls, albeit the soft light of candles, into her room were sunlight streamed in upon carpets of indigo. "You guys… you came."  
  
The first stepped up, eyes of hard cerulean identical to the shade of her long strands of ocean-blue hair swept elegantly up into a high bun atop her head. Collared suit of white and sky blue evident of a professional job, buttons of sapphire darting up the sleeves. Hikaru's breath caught momentarily in her throat, eyes shining unnaturally bright. "Umi…"  
  
The second had her arms crossed tensely across her chest, strands of platinum blonde falling over her shoulders, a loose ribbon of a headband lapsing her head, pantsuit of forest-green adorning her thin frame, glasses easily replaced for contacts in a contrast from so long ago; eyes of emerald suddenly hardened. "Fuu…"  
  
"Of course we came, we had no choice, you twit. When the _Pillar _calls, you're immediately sucked in. I had an important meeting for the company today and all of a sudden a huge light sucks me up! Is this your idea of 'funny', Hikaru? You haven't changed one bit," Umi spat out the last sentence spitefully, skirt swishing against her legs as she shifted positions, words aflame with unleashed anger.  
  
"I, too, was dragged away from a meeting of utmost important; I work at a university, Hikaru, you had no right to drag us away like that with no warning whatsoever. You banned us from Cephiro so long ago and now out-of-the-blue you pull us back in. I never wanted to come back here, Hikaru. Not after everything we went through. Why did you bring us here?" Fuu's voice was dangerously soft, laced with pain and rage none too concealed.  


"You've shut everyone out already, why _now_?"

Hikaru winced visibly, feeling the darkness growing as their words hit home, directly plummeting into the depths of her heart. It was true. She'd long ago locked herself away, barricading her door with many guards, not allowing anyone but her one small maid in only to tend to her miniscule needs: food, materials, anything she could not obtain within her own room. It was in that room she prayed for her land, for Cephiro, she prayed and forgot everything else. As was her duty. For ten long years.

Eagle had fully recovered, and she had not been there to see him, having long ago departed, locked away in her room, giving up her heart to the connection between Cephiro and herself. Lantis remained within the giant palace, silent and somber, a hidden love for Hikaru that had circulated around the palace amongst whispers and advising words; he wandered, heartbroken and inconsolable. Clef and Presea had taken to simply watching over Cephiro's Pillar from afar, unable to speak to her, unable to do anything but simply watch; secluded, pushed away like so many others. For ten years of solemn solitude. Never changing, always praying: Shidou Hikaru.  
  
"You guys…Umi, Fuu. I called you here because…"

"Because _what_?! You're the almighty Pillar, Hikaru, hurry up and talk. We have places to be," Umi spat out, as though wrestling with her anger, withholding and unleashing it randomly. 

"…because I can't do this anymore, okay?!"

"Little girl can't handle being 'special' anymore?" The Blue Guardian quipped, Fuu's generously annoyed glare pointed towards Hikaru backing her up. The Wind Guardian flicked back strands of yellow indignantly, clearing her throat haughtily, yet still biting her tongue.

Hikaru's eyes widened at her once-best friend's words, they had been like sisters once, and now… now…this was more than she could handle. "I'm not a little girl anymore! You think I enjoy staying like this, in this stupid guise?! It's been ten years now, and I still don't look a day over thirteen. This isn't fair. I don't care how selfish it is, but you have to understand, I _had _to push everyone away. I had to!"

"Then why did you say nothing when you locked the gateway to Cephiro eight years ago, Hikaru? We were still your friends then, yet you gave us no answer. Why?" Fuu's eyes locked in on Hikaru's, still compassionate, yet a burning swirl of confused hatred resided within. Fear settled in a mist of cold ice between the Pillar's stomach and ribcage, eyes widened and pupils dilated. It wasn't conceivable. Why didn't they trust her?

"Because I am the Pillar of this World, and to give my heart away to anything other than this World is the ultimate destruction of Cephiro. My heart is not mines to give away. All the people in this one world are kept safe because of me, and no matter how hard I tried to convince them to use their own powers to drive away their fears and help construct Cephiro, they did nothing. And so the responsibility fell solely to me. The Pillar System can never be eliminated with everyone so afraid, and no matter what attempts can be done to sway people and their hearts and minds, the Pillar is needed. It didn't matter at first, until I realized I was alone. Clef and Presea could do nothing but encourage me, and Ferio and Ascot, all our friends we made on our own journey the first time around, they all left. I had no time for them — for anything — anymore. Just like Emeraude and Zagato, I can't fall in love without Cephiro falling to pieces. I couldn't live knowing that and yet I vowed to put a stop to the Magic Knights. Seeing you guys only revives the love in my heart for my friends. Don't you see?! Why don't you understand?!"  
  
By now tears had found their way out of the secreted sacs of salty liquid beneath Hikaru's eyes, spilling out and rolling down pale skin, staining it with the salty trails left in their wake. Unstoppable; inevitable. "Even before I sealed away the gate between Cephiro and Tokyo Tower you two, my friends, rarely came. You got boyfriends, you made new friends, you went to high schools, you simply…forgot. Every Sunday I would be waiting for you both, and yet you never came. Sometimes for months at a time. Slowly darkness settled in the distant places of Cephiro, because of the pain I felt, so I simply closed off the part of my heart that cared and ached so deeply. I closed off the gates. You no longer needed me. It was inevitable. As the Pillar, I keep everything stable, yet cannot focus on myself. As my friends you were my main focus, and once things started changing between us, I needed to cut off that focus. I needed to stop loving. I needed…"

Hikaru choked on her own uncontrollable sobs, angrily wiping the tears away with the backs of her hands, unable to look her friends in the eyes, yet continuing nonetheless. "I needed you guys here with me, so that Cephiro could be a better place with all our inputs. But you forgot about me…"  
  
"Hikaru, that's not true," Fuu sat on the edge of Hikaru's bed, reaching out a tentative hand to place upon her shoulder. But she was startled as the small girl of fiery crimson drew sharply back.  
  
"No, don't touch me!" She regained her breath. "It's not even about me, so much as it is the others. I could handle you guys not coming, I understood. I had the others too, most of the time. I was okay." For a moment the old Hikaru of long ago shone through, happy-go-lucky, always concealing the pain, only to be replaced by bitterness. "But I wasn't the only forgotten one. What about Ferio? You had a promise with him Fuu, he loved you so much. And Ascot, he waited for so long after you told him you loved him nine years ago, Umi. What about them? You want to hear their stories?" The Pillar's voice was uncharacteristically cold, harsh, only reflecting the once stony eyes of her former comrades.  
  
The Wind Guardian locked eyes with the once Guardian of Fire, stubbornness radiating, counteracting. But all guards were thrown down within the first two words spoken by Hikaru. "Ferio's dead."  
  
"Wh… what?"   
  
"Don't lie!"  
  
"I wouldn't lie about this. He was my friend, too. It was during a time when the darkness in my heart grew larger, a time when you hadn't visited for three months and I was trapped in confusion and depression. From the darkness spouts monsters, and the larger the darkness, the stronger the monsters. Ferio went to the outskirts of Cephiro to fight one of the larger ones that was attacking the villages. He never came home."

Fuu's mask fell as she stood shakily from the bed only to fall to her knees onto the carpet. "No! It can't be! …Ferio…" Umi knelt near the one clad in green and held back tears, placing a reassuring hand of little comfort onto Fuu's back. "He can't be dead… no!"

Hikaru's tears seemed to have stopped and a layer of ice encased her heart, a storm was brewing outside. "Don't lie to yourself, Fuu. You have a boyfriend back in Tokyo, you gave Ferio back his ring nine years ago, before the gates were closed off between Cephiro and Tokyo. You know this is true." This only caused Fuu's sobs to burst into uncontrollable spasms of erratic breathing and hiccupping wails.

The Pillar turned emotionless eyes onto her next prey. Lightning flashed distinctly in the window pane, the storm raging with droplets of rain from the Heavens. Eyes of ruby red met with ocean blue, Hikaru registering no feelings as she spoke, Umi glaring back with an intense rage fueled by fear. "Ascot disappeared seven years ago. He's out of the boundaries of Cephiro and he won't be able to come back in unless Cephiro is without a Pillar, unless he can build a road back. He gave up hope in you, Umi. He loved you so much and yet you broke his heart and left him. Just like you left me. When was the last time you've thought about him?" 

"I…I think about him everyday. Just like I think about Cephiro everyday. You have a problem with that?!" Umi cried out defensively, backing away from Fuu and standing, towering over the childish frame of Hikaru as she sat calmly in bed, hair like liquid fire tumbling over her shoulders.

"I do. You're engaged, Umi. And you've never been happier. You told your fiancée that he's been the only one you've ever loved. Ascot heard you, Umi. He _heard _you. That's why he left. Maybe if you'd only 'thought about him' a little more everyday you'd remember that he was very well your first love. Don't get your hopes up on him still being alive either. Cephiro may have days filled with sunshine and happiness everyday, but here in this palace, there is no such thing. It's a building of broken hearts and shattered dreams, all trapped in this world of false love and never-ending joy."   
  
"So you're trying to blame this on us then?" Fuu spat out pitifully, yet angry through aching sobs that wracked her body. "You're saying our disappearance caused all of this? Bullshit."

Hikaru's brow arched gracefully. "If the shoe fits. As Magic Knights we were the axis of keeping peace in Cephiro through the gracing of a new Pillar."

"What's your point?"

For the first time since they arrived Fuu and Umi were graced with the smile of Shidou Hikaru from so long ago. Carefree, pure, and unselfishly happy. But the icy words that followed shattered them. "You're still the Legendary Magic Knights."  
  
A cool sensation ran up the spines of the two remaining Knights, fear coursing through their veins, and the realization dawned upon them as Hikaru stood from the confinements of her bed, thunder rattling at the window, as she cast a sad glance towards her friends. "Kei," she called out softly, voice ringing like a forlorn bell caught in a blizzard.  
  
"Mistress," and still the tiny girl from before appeared at the door way, diligently awaiting instructions. Beady turquoise eyes shining steadily, aware.  
  
"Please bring in Guru Clef, the Chief Artisan Presea and High Priest Lantis. I wish to speak with them." _One last time_, the afterthought floated through her mind.

"But, M'Lady…" The servant girl was obviously aware that it had been eight painful years of pushing the three she had been summoned to call away from the Lady Hikaru, and now to be so hastily ordered to bring them forth…  
  
"Kei, please, just do it."  
  
"As you wish."

"Thank you."

Hikaru turned faithfully neutral eyes back towards the two Legendary Knights left in undignified heaps of registered consciousness and awareness upon the carpet of deep purple-blue. Again she smiled, though not as widely this time. "Don't you see? It was never you two I was mad at. It was myself. I can't take on this burden, not knowing that I can never be one hundred percent devoted to Cephiro. It didn't work with Emeraude, and even trying to throw away the Pillar System failed. There is nothing left I can do. People are dying by the thousands everyday, even though I pour forth days of never-ending sunshine and peace. This darkness in my heart cannot be locked away. I grew selfish. I am selfish. And that is why I summoned you here."

"Hikaru," a breathless voice came at the doorway and the girl swiftly turned her head in that direction, a warm smile lighting her face as her gaze fell on the three faces, flushed red from, no doubt, running.   
  
"Umi?" Clef's gaze fell on the brash and quick-tempered teenager he once knew, so eager to learn magic, so eager to return home.  
  
"Fuu?" Presea stepped into the room, not tearing her eyes away from the Wind Guardian who was beside herself with inconsolable sobs.  
  
"Hikaru, what's going on?" Lantis was at Hikaru's side, slightly aged over the years, yet his handsome face untouched albeit the worry and concern shining through.   
  
"I summoned the remaining Magic Knights today," she stated softly, reveling in the warmth of her High Priest's close contact. She nodded slowly, "I summoned them here."

Clef's head shot up from where he was looking back and forth between the two Knights, no longer the youthful teenagers, but rather the stiff adults they had become. Eyes of millennia and wisdom boring into the depths of sadness found in crimson pupils. "Why did you… Hikaru, no. You didn't…"  
  
"No, not again." Presea's voice wavered, catching in her throat, gloved hand coming up to her face, trembling.  
  
Lantis' face most of all conveyed the utmost pain, he nearly fell to his knees next to Hikaru, hunching over her, eyes stinging with unshed tears. "Why?" His hand came up to gently cup her face which was brimming over with happiness so long forgotten to her usual expressions of solemn pensiveness or cold withdrawal. "Why…?"

Cephiro's Pillar brought her hand up to feel the hand caressing her face, as though having to make sure it was real. "Because I made history repeat itself. Because I did something I wasn't supposed to do."  
  
"What's that?" Clef asked quietly from the side, white robes enveloping him as he leaned against his staff heavily, as though overcome with a fatigue he had not noticed until just then. He knew the answer, yet dreaded it, and tiredly ran a hand over his eyes as she opened her mouth to answer.  
  
"I fell in love." 

And as the words fell from her lips, everything seemed to play in slow motion. Clef heaved a heavy sigh, eyes closing as he ground his teeth together forcefully, tears spilling over the rims of his closed eyes. Presea stumbled forward, collapsing onto her knees, ponytail swishing as she fell, shoulders trembling with deep shuddering breaths. Umi and Fuu stared down at the floor intently, eyes wide and glossy, bodies shining as armour slowly appeared upon them, just like last time. And Lantis leaned down, an arm wrapped around Hikaru's shoulders, planting a gentle kiss upon her forehead.   
  
"No…," came his soft whisper, eyes clouded with a whirlwind of emotions, bangs brushing against his forehead as he fought to regain control. "No."  
  
"It isn't fair," Umi managed as she stood, running a gloved hand through her hair, the neat bun demolished into waves of cerulean like the curves of the ocean. The jewel pierced and embedded into her glove glowed and tears ran down the gentle porcelain skin of her face. "This isn't fair." And her free hand reached within the jewel and extracted the weapon within.  
  
"…again… I never thought we'd go through this again," Fuu whispered as the invisible winds stretched around her and the jewel fitted atop her left glove began to shine luminously. Her blonde hair whipped around her as she took her spot next to Umi, who was encased in strips of thin water flying around her as she brandished her sword of thin silver death. A sigh escaped Fuu's lips, and she gulped back her tears. It all made too much sense now. It was too real. And yet she couldn't stay mad at Hikaru. She couldn't because… "Because this is what must be done." And with that her sword was unsheathed from the light flying out from the gem and drawn forth.  
  
"It's okay," Hikaru said softly with a bittersweet smile as she saw Clef's defeated figure and witnessed Presea's gentle sobs. "All of Cephiro has fallen because of me, the last village wiped out by a plague of ultimate death, swift and silent. We are the only ones left in Cephiro. Please, forgive me… I wasn't strong enough to escape myself and my own heart. It's my fault."  
  
"Hikaru don't do this, we can all find a way other than this to restore Cephiro, please!" Clef cried out as the storm pounded outside her bedroom window, as lightning flashed fiercely and thunder raged its echoing vibrations through the room.   
  
"Thank you, Clef. You always did believe in me, but I have already summoned the Knights. This is their duty. I only have enough power left to send you three, my most beloved, home with these Knights. That will be _your_ duty." Another sad grin graced her childish face, her long strands of crimson tangling in Lantis' idle fingers as he held her tightly.  
  
"Hikaru," Presea spoke through clenched teeth as she tried to stifle her sobs and the tears that were endless. "Please…" and she collapsed back into the sorrow, giving in to the pain. "There has to be another way…"  
  
"There is no other way, Presea. You made me a Magic Knight through my weapon. I loved that sword, I loved Rayearth. But now… things are different. And I'm sorry, I didn't have time to bring you back more of that candy, to spend more time with you. But, thank you… you were a dear friend of mines. I'm sorry you won't be able to continue weapon-making in Tokyo, but maybe you will find another thing closely fitted to such. I have faith in you and Clef."  
  
"Hikaru." Lantis cast eyes of harsh pain and understanding upon the girl he had fallen in love with so long ago. "I will go with you."  


Her eyes widened. "No. You must go with the others, I'd never forgive myself if you didn't."  
  
"Well, I'll forgive you for you." His eyes caught hers and a gentle grin found its way onto his pale face. _Don't you see? _he thought softly to himself. "Don't you understand?" _I love you_. And the shields came crashing down around Cephiro's Pillar as the realization sunk in and everything became all the more real.   
  
"I love you too," she whispered as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, as the windows shattered around them as the storm peaked its rage, as a single gunshot rang through the building and Kei's forlorn body lay crumpled as was her Mistress' wish, as Clef and Presea could do nothing as their bodies were encased in a strange light, carried off the ground, as Fuu and Umi sent each other identical looks of determination, of confidence, of final acceptance. And the world burst into a blinding light as the two remaining Legendary Magic Knights ran forward, weapons thrusting, connecting wetly as hot tears ran down their faces admist the anguished cries of the Guru and Artisan slowly drifting and fading.

"I'm sorry," Umi whispered, gazing down at Hikaru's face twisted in pain, Lantis holding her from behind taking in gasping breaths, warm blood binding them both.   
  
"We didn't understand before, we're so sorry," Fuu fingers, wrapped around Umi's as they removed the blade, slick with crimson life, from the two bodies. Hikaru sent one last smile of pure joy towards them, as her life diminished, as Lantis' grip slid from her waist. And she fell forward, chest rattling with one last breath echoing through her rib cage, crimson eyes gleaming with the last tears, the smile no longer forced, but instead genuine. Pure.   
  
"Thank you."  


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- fin - 

A/N: Wow, this turned out to be crap, didn't it? I am aware of the OOC-ness not that I've re-read it. But, I would still appreciate feedback, nonetheless. I guess I should also mention that I've only read the manga, and am not sure how the anime works for this series. Err… yeah, go ahead, flame me… ~Cheers then.


	2. Epilogue: Belief

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A/N: All right, you guys, after this, that will be the end of "Pure". I hope you guys have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Even if I did have to kill off my dear Hikaru. Thank for your kind reviews. Take care, all of you!  
  
Alternating points of view, angst. Utter, utter angst.

Disclaimer: MKR belongs to CLAMP, "Belief" to Gavin DeGraw. Simple. I own only but this meager plot of random angst.

+++

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Clef  
  
Hikaru dying was the end of Cephiro as we knew it. Her whole world for over ten years. The only world I ever knew. Gone.

All because she fell in love.

Chief Artisan Presea of Cephiro, and myself, were sent to Tokyo, to the world of the Magic Knights, never to see our home again.

And now, here we stand. In a sunny field, just behind the _dojo_ Hikaru, our beloved Pillar and friend, grew up in. Her older brothers have gathered; one clad in a tuxedo, the other two in _kendo _outfits. Tears streak their faces, yet sobs stay stifled by thin lips. Umi, in a long black dress, stands next to a grief-ridden Fuu, dressed in a pantsuit of the same color. Presea, whose stoic expression is set defiantly, (though tears shine behind her pale eyes), stands next to them, several feet away.

The day is sunny, the only kind of days we knew in Cephiro, with Hikaru as our Pillar, despite the occasional light showers to nurture the Earth with.

It's impossible to register that she is no longer with us. The memories hurt. And the sunny weather, so like her bright personality and disposition, does not help the mood. At all.

"…ashes to ashes, dust to dust…"

She's gone. Along with my belief. My belief in all things pure.

Maybe there is no such thing.

Presea's eyes meet mines and all I can offer her is a sad, small, smile. But, that action alone seems enough to set her off, tears spilling down her face, leaving me with a sudden sense of loss.

To us, there is no life without Cephiro. Just as, to Hikaru's grieving family, there is no life without their youngest sibling. 

We are broken.

+++

****

Presea  
  
Clef's eyes meeting with mines sends me over the edge. We loved Hikaru, as our Pillar, our friend: she became our whole world.

Even if she wasn't the Pillar… the pain would still be here. This is real.

Tokyo is a bitter place. Crowded and smog-filled; smoke everywhere, there is no real air. Impure. There are no forests, no magic, nor weapons needed for anything other than decoration. Well, except the deadly technology that does nothing but allow a cold fight of flying metal that is nowhere near fairr. It's a joke.

The only good thing that seems to reside here is the confections that Hikaru loved so dearly. But then… the pain comes with that as well. The overwhelming memories.

I spend all my days in what Fuu calls a "National Library", researching anything to get my mind off things, ever since we arrived here.

But it doesn't matter.

Cephiro is gone. Hikaru is gone. There is nothing to believe in anymore. And so, I weep.

+++

****

Umi

Tatsuhara Asao's hand tightens around mines. He does not know why he is here, only knowing that one of my best friend's, from way back in Junior High, body had been found, (assumedly missing for ten years, blamed on a kidnapping), and was being given a proper burial. A joke.

Satoru and the others know the truth. We all do. But we don't want to believe it. Not for a second.

I bite back the tears clogging my throat, stinging my eyes, and I pull my hand away from his. This isn't right. Ignore the confused and pained stare he focuses on to my face, the pretty face he shamelessly brags about to everyone who will listen. Love at first sight, he says. I haven't been able to look at him directly since we came back. I just can't look at him the same.

Because that's all I am to him. A pretty face and a heavy compensation to add to his wallet. That's all I'll ever be. But maybe that's not it at all.

He looks so much like Ascot, with his light-colored hair and shy smile. Even their names sound alike.

I've gone so far as to call off our engagement. I don't want to hurt him. But I can no longer be around him.

Hikaru's words haunt me. I may already be going insane from looping every last thing she said that day, over and over, insomnia seizing me each night. And these tears stand for everything I've lost and all the stupid knowledge I've gained.

I miss Ascot. I miss _Hikaru_.

That's why this must end.

+++  
  
**Fuu**

What I miss most about Hikaru? Her laughter. The way her smile could make you feel like everything was OK. Her intuition. Her morals. She was my best friend. And now where is she…? Hiding somewhere? Waiting to pop out with a mischievous smile? Blushing as she stammers a sudden apology, thinking we could ever be angry at her; is that what she's doing?

No. It can't be.

Not when her tiny body is being lowered into the ground, right before my very eyes. Her brothers wanted her buried right next to Hikari. He had died shortly after Hikaru became the Pillar, when she mysteriously went "missing." The doctors said it was of old age, he had been with her since she was a child, but we all have our suspicions of a broken heart. And who can blame him…?

Look at what this permanent disappearance of our 'little sister' has done to us.

Her _kendo_ outfit at her feet, _shinai*_ between stiffly laced fingers upon her chest, a white flowing dress, like Emeraude's old one, encases her pale body, fire-red flowers outline her precious frame.

It's her. Even if none of us choose to believe it is.

What I miss most about Hikaru? …how long do you have?

+++

And so the small group slowly scatters. The three men leaving first, escaping back into the confining walls of their _dojo_, consoling one another in their deeply broken hearts, trying to pull back memories of better times with their fire-haired sibling. A white-haired lad with large eyes escorts a taller, slim, lady with long pale hair back to the car awaiting them. They seat themselves in silence, waiting for the others in patience and heavy grief that will not seem to leave.

Hououji Fuu kneels in front of the fresh grave site, placing a single red rose atop the freshly turned ground, her face blotchy from crying, expression undecipherable. "I'm sorry, Miss Hikaru." Her whisper floats up to the smiling Heavens of sunshine above, and she slowly rises, offering a sad smile to Clef and Presea as she takes a seat in the back with them, black leather gently creaking. All stare ahead. Unsure of what was to come next.

"I think…" Ryuuzaki Umi hesitates, her boyfriend, once-fiancée, visibly tenses as she stares at the grave before them with a pained expression. "…I can't see you anymore."  
  
Tatsuhara Asao lets the pain seize him, if just for a moment. He's seen this coming ever since she returned home that day, in a different outfit than the one she'd left in, having disposed of it for the dried blood of a dear friend left on it. Her face drained, her expression blank, she'd told him that one of her best friends had just died. That there'd be nothing she could do. Before collapsing in a fit of inconsolable tears. 

He bites his lower lip, and then his pride flares up once again, and he nods curtly, as is his matter. "Fine. Be happy." His tone icy, his eyes distant and sad, he turns his face away. And then, without making a scene, he slowly walks away, going through the _dojo_ to exit, without another word. The inevitable had occurred, and he had been ready for it.

Umi wasn't sure what passed first: relief or sadness. Perhaps both. She looks up at the clear skies of aquamarine above, soft puffs of clouds drifting lazily by. "I hope you're happy, Hikaru," her face contorts into pain, though all conviction is free from her voice, a small weak laugh escaping instead. "I don't see why you had to set us free, though…"

Her body heaves with a deep shaky sigh, emitted from the very depths of her soul. And the blue-haired girl nods slowly to herself. "I miss you, Hikaru…"  
  
And a soft giggle shoots through the wind that blows by just then, "I believe in you!" piercing the thick atmosphere. Umi's head shoots up. But, as quickly as it came, the voice and its laughter is gone. And so, she walks slowly back to the car, purity broken, beliefs renewed. If just for a moment. And they drive home in complete silence.

+++

Belief

"I'm Hikaru, you guys! I'm 14 and in the eighth grade!"  


__

Makes things real

  
"We can save the Princess and become the Legendary Magic Knights…!"  


__

Makes things feel

  
"Animals are easy to understand, just like Hikari! We grew up together, he's the best dog."  


__

Feel alright

  
"I left my wallet in my backpack, I don't have any money on me. Just this candy…"  


__

Belief

  
"Presea, you're awesome, thanks!"  


__

Makes things true

"Umi and Fuu are my best friends. Together, we're fighting for Cephiro."

__

Things like you

  
"Just thinking of our friendship gives me strength!"

__

You and I

"I don't know what's going to happen. But, if we're together, we can handle it. Let's do it!"  


__

Belief

  
"I just thought becoming Magic Knights would make us heroes."  


__

I'm going to yell it from the rooftops

  
"I want to go to Cephiro. Nothing changes there. I want to go to Cephiro again."

__

I'll wear a sign on my chest

"Maybe I'm sad because I'm hungry…"

__

That's the least I can do

"Thank you, Umi, Fuu."  


__

Tonight, you arrested my mind

  
"I'm happy. I got to see you all again."  


__

When you came to my defense

  
"I will fight for my own reasons. For my own heart."  


__

With a knife

"Princess Emeraude sacrificed herself to protect the people she loved. But, what happens to the people left behind?! Those who loved the Princess, those who thought more of her than anything else… what can their hearts do?!"

__

In the shape of your mouth

  
"Why can't the Pillar fall in love? People can't live all alone. To not love anyone, to not be understood by anyone. That's… too sad."  


__

In the form of your body

  
"Because I'm not alone, I can live on. With the people I love, I can find happiness."  


__

With the wrath of a God

  
"I don't want anyone to be sad again. I don't want to see anyone cry for losing a loved one. And… I want to never regret my actions again!"  


__

Oh, you stood by me

  
"You believe in the people you love."  


__

And I'll stand by

  
"See ya later!"

__

My Belief

  
**-the end-**

__

*shinai: This is the bamboo sword they use in _kendo_, it's pretty long, depending on your height, it's supposed to be a little below chest level standing up straight next to you. Something like that. Haven't gone to _kendo_ in several months; am losing it. Har har.

****

A/N: How was that for an epilogue? Depressing to boot? I hope so, I wanted to pull off some major angst. I hope you guys liked it! I spent over three hours pouring over my MKR manga trying to find every single one of Hikaru's quotes and finding ones that would fit and I went through over four drafts of this story, both with the quotes and without. Nearly killed myself over it and almost didn't post it because I got fed up. Whew. I hope I pulled it off, though. Please review.  
  
Thank you for reading "Pure". This is the very end. Cheers.  
  
_"When nothing else makes sense, I'll fight believing only in myself." _-Heero Yuy; Gundam Wing


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